Honda CX500 cafe racer

Honda’s CB series of motorcycles tends to get all the attention on the custom scene. But a surprising number of CX500s are also being given a makeover, as this lovely café racer spotted on ADVrider shows. The CX500 appeared in 1978; it was designed to compete with smaller capacity Euros such as the BMW boxers and Moto Guzzi’s V50. The liquid-cooled engine looks similar to a small-block air-cooled Guzzi V-twin, and the Honda bike also used shaft rather than chain drive. The bike was popular with courier riders in Europe, and rewarded them with sweet handling—plus exceptional reliability, once a timing chain tensioner glitch was fixed under recall. As supplies of CBs and XS650s and cheap SR400/500s dwindle, the CX500’s star is on the rise. The pictured bike went up for sale on eBay last year: the tank, side plates, seat and cowl seem to have been modified and repainted. The Com-Star wheels are original, and the exhaust may even be original too, apart from the upswept rear section. If you happen to know the provenance of this bike, please drop us a line in the comments.